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United States Park Police Deploy New Public Emergency Alert and Notification Tool

Following the success of using public alerting/notification technology for the Fourth of July celebration this summer, the U.S. Park Police is expanding its public alerting system to deliver important and timely information to the Washington DC area every day.

This system will help the community stay up to date on happenings in the parks and parkways around their neighborhoods or commuting routes 24 hours a day.

The United States Park Police first used this system for the 4th of July Events in the Washington DC area with great success. During the day and evening, the United States Park Police was able to provide subscribers with important information regarding changes to opening times for the Washington Monument grounds, safety messages, and messages related to potential severe weather headed towards Washington D.C.

On the Fourth of July, Teresa Chambers, Chief of the United States Park Police could be found interacting with the arriving crowds as they proceeded through the access points into the fireworks viewing areas and encouraging them to sign up for the notifications. "From managing large crowds at major events to daily ensuring the safety of those who live near and use our local National Parks, the ability to efficiently keep people informed is critical to the mission of the United States Park Police," said Chief Chambers. "Now, by simply texting USPPDC to 888777 from a cell phone, those who visit or live near our National Parks or use our Parkways can receive timely and relevant information to traffic, crime, and safety conditions."

Building on this success, the United States Park Police will begin providing alerts and notifications to visitors to the National Parks in the Washington D.C. area, communities that surround those National Parks, and commuters who use the several Parkways in the Washington DC area. These important notifications and alerts range from road closures to look outs to safety information to special event information.

"The safety of the millions who visit our parks and use of parkways is always one of our highest priorities. With this additional tool, we can now ensure that our visitors and park users have the best information available to ensure that their visits to the parks or use of our parkways provides the best experience possible for them," said Steve Whitesell, Regional Director, National Park Service, National Capital Region.

The alerting/notification technology is provided free of use by Nixle. Nixle provides this technology to over 6000 public safety agencies across the country.

The public can subscribe to alerts for the United States Park Police by texting USPPDC to 888777 or by signing up on the Nixle website (www.nixle.com).